Existing light-emitting diode (LED) lights have become increasingly popular because they are known to be generally energy efficient, as compared to incandescent lights, and provide a high quality brightness and color. Further, LED lights are known to have a generally higher life expectancy as compared to incandescent lights. As an example, many newer LED lights have a life span of about 30,000 hours, compared to an estimated 7,500 hours for a compact fluorescent bulb and 1,000 hours for an incandescent bulb.
However, the environment in which the LEDs operate is important to their longevity. LEDs are semiconductor devices that, like most semiconductors, will degrade from excessive heat. LEDs and their drivers (i.e., electrical components) will degrade and operate less efficiently if exposed to heat gain and/or excessive temperature fluctuations. LEDs have been known to flicker, dim, or not work at all in extreme cold and hot temperatures. In fact, exposure to too much heat has been considered one of the primary reasons for the failure of many LED lights. Accordingly, heat gain and excessive temperature fluctuations will decrease the life expectancy of the LED and tend to negate at least some of the positive benefits associated with LEDs.
One existing solution for the thermal management of LEDs is to include metal heatsinks disposed to draw heat away from the LED chip. Another existing solution is to incorporate heat pipes and vapor chambers as a passive heat-transfer pathway to allow heated air emitted by the LED to be drawn away from the LED light. Yet another existing solution is to utilize a thermally conductive adhesive to bond the LED, its board, and the heat sinks.
Unfortunately, these existing solutions have their drawbacks. In particular, these solutions are limited to traditional heat-transfer methods of conduction, convention, and radiation in order to mitigate heat generated by the LED itself. These existing solutions do not address external thermal sources that also negatively affect the longevity of the LED. In addition, these existing solutions do not address the problem associated with temperature fluctuations between extreme high temperatures, as well as, extreme low temperatures.
The inventors of the present invention have discovered that ceiling mounted LED lights are particularly susceptible to such external thermal source problems. Specifically, the temperature in the attic area and other above-the-ceiling areas can be extremely high, particularly during the summer season and in year-round warm temperature regions. Likewise, during cold seasons, temperatures in the attic area may become excessively low. Ceiling mounted lights are typically installed with a conventional above-the-ceiling junction box that is open to the attic area or other areas disposed above a finished ceiling to mount a light to and provide an electrical supply source to power the light. Conventional above-the-ceiling junction boxes are typically poorly insulated electrical boxes that are directly exposed to the superheated attic air and readily transfer the superheated attic air directly to the LED light and its associated electronic components. Therefore, these existing conventional above-the-ceiling junction boxes contribute to the deterioration of the LED lights and shorten the life expectancy of LED lights as a result of the exposure to heat gain and temperature fluctuations present in many attic and other above-the-ceiling areas.
Another drawback with conventional above-the-ceiling junction boxes is the installation processes and apparatuses. More particularly, installing the above-the-ceiling junction box typically requires a complex process that involves creating large openings in the ceiling, utilizing large support brackets, and employing complicated electrical wiring, which is often beyond the technical skill of many users. Thus, a user may be required to either hire a costly electrician to perform the installation, or attempt the installation himself. Still yet, the overall process for installing ceiling lights on a finished ceiling, without a pre-existing installation, can be cumbersome for the user, overly complicated, and inefficient.
Moreover, although some conventional junction boxes may be attached to a ceiling, that application causes the unsightly appearance of the junction box, and for LED or other light applications, it fails to provide a finished look to the ceiling.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.